


Tastes Like Sugar and Spice

by Cup_aTea



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dogs, Farmers' Markets, M/M, Mandatory Fun Day, doughnuts, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 06:51:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20560046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cup_aTea/pseuds/Cup_aTea
Summary: Steve drags Bucky out to a farmers' market in the middle of the countryside.  Bucky is less than impressed.  But at least there's a cute dog.  And it turns out the dog has a cute human who comes with doughnuts.Maybe today is looking up.





	Tastes Like Sugar and Spice

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [this](https://mandatoryfunday.tumblr.com/post/187441307389/oldfarmhouse-backseat-driver-via#notes) Mandatory Fun day prompt.  
~*~  
Please forgive any errors, I'm a little tired and this is definitely unbetaed.

Bucky sighed as Steve pulled the car up and parked at the edge of the country market. 

“Why are we doing this?” he asked.

“Because it’s good for you. And it’ll be fun.”

Steve got out of the car and Bucky followed suit.

“Are you sure it’s not just to prove your boyfriend wrong?” Bucky said as they got out of the car.

“Shud’up, punk,” Steve said. “Try and enjoy yourself.”

_Not likely_, Bucky thought.

He didn't really get the appeal of driving out into the country to visit a market. Steve said it was the perfect time of year, but Bucky wasn’t convinced. Looking around, there was an array of pickup trucks and beat up cars parked in the gravel. He didn’t see many city people in the crowd. Most people were in old jeans and sweatshirts. Carhartt jackets and ball caps were everywhere. Plenty of the cars were splattered with mud or dust, and a fair few of the people were too.

They walked up to the nearest table, and Steve, being the good citizen that he was, immediately struck up a conversation. Bucky let his gaze wander and it was drawn to a dog sticking it’s head out of the window a nearby pickup truck. It’s mouth was hanging open and it’s eyes were half closed in an expression of doggy bliss. As Bucky watched, a man walked up to the truck holding a paper bag of doughnuts. He leaned against the cab and ate one of them. When he got to the last bite, he reached over to share it with the dog, who scarfed it down.

He caught Bucky looking and grinned.

“Wanna doughnut?” he asked, holding out the bag. “Otherwise Lucky and I are gonna eat them all, and that’s not good for either of us.”

Bucky glanced over his shoulder at Steve who was still busy chatting away with a senior citizen. 

“Yeah, sure,” he said, stepping up to the truck.

“They’re apple cider doughnuts,” the stranger said. “Local specialty.”

Bucky took one, feeling the crumbly cinnamon sugar under his fingertips. He bit into it, and it was soft and sweet and little bit tangy.

“Does your, uh, boyfriend want one?” the stranger asked.

“Huh?” Bucky said. His head whipped around to see that Steve had finally noticed he had wandered away. He subtlety tried to shoo Steve off. Turning back to the stranger, he shook his head. “We’re not dating. He’s my friend. Practically my brother.”

“Good to know,” the stranger said, pulling out another doughnut. “I’m Clint."

“Bucky,” Bucky said. 

Clint smiled.

The dog whined as they both finished their doughnuts without offering any bites. Clint ruffled his ears.

“I’m guessing you’re not from around here,” Clint said. 

“How’d you guess,” Bucky said dryly.

“Well, the skinny jeans are a bit of a give away,” Clint said. “But I would have remembered meeting you before.”

Bucky was not imaging the look Clint gave him or the way it lingered on his legs. So he stepped closer and reached up to let the dog sniff his hand.

“You said this guy was named Lucky? What happened to his eye?” This close, Bucky could see the dog was missing his left eye.

“Yeah, you could say his first family weren’t really cut out to be dog owners. He’s been through a lot, but he’s still the best dog, aren’t you boy?”

Clint buried his face in the dog’s fur as he spoke, letting the dog lick his ear, and Bucky vehemently denied feeling any fluttering in his stomach. Clint leaned back and looked fondly at his dog.

“I felt bad for him because he’s stuck in the truck today. The Grant’s have got bacon samples out, and that means no dog.”

“Because he’d eat them all?” Bucky guesses, scratching behind Lucky’s ears.

“Convince people to feed him, more like. You wouldn’t believe how many people stop by to see him.” Clint sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. “That said, I should probably get back to it.”

“Oh. Uh, yeah. Of course,” Bucky said. And of course he only felt disappointed because this was the first successfully conversation with a stranger in ages. It had nothing to do with Clint’s crooked grin. Or his haystack haircut. Or how tight his shirt was under his worn jacket.

Or the soft, shy look that was creeping across his face.

“You wanna take a look? See what we do?” Clint asked.

“Sure,” Bucky said.

Clint’s face broke out in a wide smile.

Bucky followed him through the maze of booths and stalls, listening to Clint chatter about produce and chickens the whole way. He thought, as he checked out Clint’s butt as he walked ahead, that maybe this adventure out the apartment wasn’t turning out so bad after all.


End file.
